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White Scars
The White Scars are a formerly Loyalist First Founding Space Marine Legion of Heretic Astartes who are wholly dedicated to the service of the Chaos God Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, though they were originally the proud Vth Legion of the Legiones Astartes. The proud and noble White Scars were once considered the masters of the lightning strike and hit-and-run attack. Though a trusted friend to Warmaster Horus, it was Jaghatai Khan's fate to fall to the clutches of the Dark Prince. The Dark Lord of Ecstasy enticed the White Scars' Primarch with promises of material wealth, power and above all else, freedom from the confines of the Imperial war machine. Their betrayal was as swift as their attacks and equally devastating; bringing a tear to the eye of the sternest warrior. Though Jaghatai himself has long-since lapsed into decadent and ecstatic repose, his khans still terrorise the Imperium with lightning strikes; each a mockery of the Emperor they used to serve. Legion History The origins of the White Scars Legion can be found during the Unification Wars, though much of their early history is unrecorded or obscured by the passage of time. As with much of the old lore regarding the Vth Legion, their earliest days and first campaigns are overlooked by many, obscured by time, blood and the reticence of the Legion itself. Yet in these beginnings can be seen the shadow of the Legion's future. Even from their inception, the Vth Legion were held apart from their brothers, rarely found in massed ranks among the assembled hosts of the Unification Wars, yet they were one of the first Legions to draw blood in the name of the Emperor. Taken first from the technomadic tribes of the Thulean Basin, whose hardy stock had traversed those icy wastes in vast mechanised crawlers throughout the long years of the Age of Strife, and later from the wider stock of Terran recruits drawn from all racial and geographic origins, these would account for the minority of members by the time of the Ullanor Crusade on the cusp of the 31st Millennium. The main bulk of the gene-recruits used were drawn from all racial and geographic origins, but these would account for the minority of members by the time of the Ullanor Crusade on the cusp of the 31st Millennium. According to ancient White Scars records, the Terrans who made up the Vth Legion possessed diverse origins, with "Some having the flesh the colour of charred firewood, for others it was as pale as our armour." By the time of the Great Crusade, Terran Aspirants were brought to the training centres of Imamdo on Terra. Here they underwent the selection process, and if chosen, the physical conditioning necessary to determine whether or not they were fit to become Space Marine Legionaries. Each cadre was chosen by a prospective Space Marine Legion. If an Aspirant showed extreme promise they were often selected by the vaunted XVIth Legion (the Luna Wolves), but more often than not they would be reassigned to a Space Marine Legion based on the individual Legion's needs because of the ongoing Great Crusade. Those Aspirants who were reassigned would be transported to a training facility on Luna, where they would continue their training and study for another decade, until they were deemed worthy of becoming a fully-fledged Battle-Brother of their newly assigned Legion. Once transported to their new Legion, they would continue undergoing gene-therapy, psycho-conditioning, and then, finally, the gene-seed implants that would make them one with their new Legion. Terra's Forgotten Sons The warriors of the Vth Legion were the Unification's eyes and ears. While some of the earliest Legions, such as the XVIth Legion, were committed to the frontlines of the initial conquest alongside the Emperor's Thunder Warriors, the Vth Legion was granted the solitary duty of seeking out the hidden fastnesses of the many gene-wrought demagogues and warlords that ruled the war-ravaged face of Old Earth. In those earliest days, the Legion numbered only a few hundred warriors, and often operated in small cadres of less than a dozen. The operations to which they were assigned put the posthuman physique of the Emperor's Space Marines to test in a way quite unlike the battlefield hell that awaited their fellows. Ever on the move, and far beyond the borders of the Emperor's ever-growing dominion, the Vth Legion endured the worst of the destruction wrought on Old Earth during the ravages of the Age of Strife, braving a landscape so twisted and broken by rad-phage, war and psy-plagues that mere humans could not have survived its touch. Roving far and wide, it was these warriors of the Vth Legion who charted the course of the Emperor's rise, surviving where few others could have, running ahead of the massed armies of Unification and seeking out the enemies in its path. Where they encountered mighty warlords and decadent empires that had stood against Old Night, they prowled the borders seeking the opportunity to strike, and where they encountered weakness, they left behind only corpses. By the time the main Legions of proto-Astartes and Thunder Warriors arrived, their foes were weakened and distracted by the work of the Vth Legion, made easy prey for the armies of Unification. It was a task to which its early recruits were well-suited. The clansmen of the Thulean Basin had survived in the frozen salt-wastes of the north for centuries, fiercely independent and stoic but with a deep well of inventive cunning. Passing through the terror of Old Night by cutting themselves off amid the sub-zero wastelands of Thule in the far north, they well-understood the cruel dictates of survival. These were far more than superb killers, as their heritage as machine-smiths and expert survivors was carried across to the earliest Legion cadres. Once bent to the Emperor's will, they proved fine stock for His pathfinders, though many noted their wilful nature, their commanders prone to ignoring any orders save those of the Emperor or another commander who had earned their respect. This is likely another example of the Emperor's grand plan in action, some element of His foresight identifying some need for that very trait, despite the protest it raised among certain of His generals and advisers. Despite the ire caused by their insular nature, few could doubt the ability of these warriors, who soon gathered a measure of acceptance within the grand armies of Unification for their fortitude and shrewd intelligence. Yet it was a task without glory. They operated for Terran years at a time far from the centre of the conflict. Once the Vth had finished their bloody work in drawing out the enemies of the Emperor, charting their strongholds and leaving them weak, the other Legions marched forth to bring them to battle and defeat while the Vth moved on. Few battle honours from the wars of Unification record the sacrifice of the Vth Legion, and few now living know of the "Star Hunters," as the first of these companies was known, and the daring raid they launched on the Albian fortress of Dubris, paving the way for the initial invasions of that land, or the 83-day battle in the black catacombs of Kadiru, a key fortress in the Yndonesic domain of Ursh. Such hidden heroics were forgotten in the face of the public conquests carried out by the other Legions. Few within the Vth Legion showed any sense of outrage at this subtle slight, even taking a quiet pride in the silent role they played, but it served to isolate them among the ranks of the Legiones Astartes. They became, by circumstance and by choice, outsiders among the Emperor's elite, more at home in the wilds, where they followed no dictate but their own than at the heart of battle, subject to the whims of generals for whom they felt little kinship. The Pioneer Companies As the Emperor consolidated His hold on Terra and the surrounding worlds, the Vth Legion was among the first of His hosts to depart the Sol System, shattered into a hundred companies, each a tiny Legion of its own. These Pioneer Companies were each dispatched to follow those Warp currents that flowed strongly in the aether about Sol, seeking out the lost worlds of Mankind and charting the strongholds of alien empires. In its earliest incarnation, the Vth Legion was not the singular body that many of the other proto-Legions formed. It was a Space Marine Legion in name only. Instead, it was organised into autonomous companies, each of which had few links to any of their brethren and operated entirely independently. Indeed, prior to the recall that was sent after the discovery of Jaghatai Khan, many of the Pioneer Companies had no contact with any other body of the Vth Legion and developed a set of traditions and rituals unique to that company. This was especially true as the Great Crusade progressed, with each company often forced to pursue recruitment as they travelled because supply and reinforcement convoys were rarely able to keep up with their rate of advance. Oddly, this brought several of the Pioneer Companies closer to the other Legions, especially where they fought in close proximity, as the Vth Legion warriors, still lacking a Primarch to rally around, began to adopt elements of the other Legions' practises. These distinct sub-cultures would endure beyond the integration of Jaghatai's new order, with many of them being subsumed into the pre-existing Chogorian obsession with small superstitions and others among the Warrior Lodges that permeated the Terran branches of the White Scars. These Pioneer Companies were composed of as few as 500 and as many as 3,000 Legionaries; with records listing perhaps 800 known companies by the year 800.M30. The sum total of the entire Vth Legion is estimated to have been around 80,000 at this point in the Great Crusade, but is rarely known to have gathered in strengths of greater than a few thousand, barring such exceptional incidents as the Battle for Thapsus in late 744.M30. Though spread thin, the Vth Legion remained a sizable force, mostly due to the opportunistic recruitment patterns practised by many of the companies of the Legion to offset the relative scarcity of reinforcements received from Terra. This practise caused no little friction between the Legions, as the warriors of the Vth had on a number of occasions encroached upon territory ceded to the more established Legions. In particular, both Ferrus Manus and Leman Russ are known to have made issue of the Legion recruiting from worlds whose populations were pledged to them, and only the direct intervention of Horus Lupercal is known to have prevented the censure of the Vth's errant warriors. Within each Pioneer Company there was to be found a tremendous diversity of sub-divisions and heraldry, the most common being the old Terran standard of the Unification Wars armies which sub-divided the larger company into groups of 100 warriors, each commanded by a Captain and one among that number acting as overall commander, a First Captain. Heraldry among the early Vth Legion was just as varied. Most Pioneer Companies maintained the numeral that marked the Legion designation granted them by the Emperor, but also adopted a number of unofficial insignia of their own, marking the various titles granted them by both the Imperial forces they served and the enemies they hunted. A sample of these titles and heraldic devices, displayed above as found in the Liber Armorum Terranicus edition of 756.M30, shows a growing lack of unity between the Legion's far flung sons in the years just before the discovery of their Primarch. The Warhawk The inhabitants of Mundus Planus know nothing about the past of their world, the truth hidden deep in ancient lore kept secret since the Heresy. The only surviving text, The Terror of Quan Zhou, predates the arrival of the Imperium of Man to Mundus Planus, when the people called their home Chogoris. The long verses paint a picture of soaring mountains, vast green plains and deep turquoise seas. Cities of white stone sparkled along the coasts of these oceans, their inhabitants living prosperous and comfortable lives under their leader, the Palatine. Though they had achieved little beyond basic black powder technology, these metropolises were havens of luxury and learning. Opposed to these high walls lay the spartan land of the Empty Quarter, which stretched featureless for as far as the eye could see. Scattered across the plains were tribes of horsemen; nomads whose savagery and lust for battle were infamous across the lands. Many of the tribesmen's own fables told of the dreaded Talskar tribe and their khan, or leader. Though he was called many names, such as Aŭdac, Ciĥttera and Mephaeta, amongst his own he was Jaghatai, the great warrior. His legend began when Ong, then the khan of the Talskar, happened upon a small child wandering lost across the plains. Knowing that any soul alone in his world should return to the earth within a day, he was astonished to find the boy had survived the passing of the moon. Believing he was a gift from the Sky Father, Ong took the youngster as his own. Teaching him the arts much valued by their society, Jaghatai became a master of the bow, the sword and the horse. His tactical wisdom and foresight earned him the respect of many of his father's bondsmen, though others mocked him for preaching of a united tribe of the plains. Sensing the power and potential of his son, Ong heeded the young Jaghatai's words, approaching many tribes under the banner of peace. Initially, few gave them presence in their camps, deeming such friendships signs of weakness and a plea for aid. Countless times the Talskar had to prove their strength in arms to be allowed to leave alive. But, against the odds, and eased by the smooth tongue of Jaghatai, a fledgling alliance grew around Ong and the Talskar. Unfortunately many still refuted this new nation and war continued to rage across the Empty Quarter. When brute force did not achieve the desired result, raiders of the Kurayed tribe ambushed Ong and Jaghatai. Father and son fought back-to-back, the last two remaining souls of their hunting party. Skill and courage won the day and the two returned to their encampment more determined in their quest. Reinvigorated, the united tribe prospered and gained strength as more khans pledged themselves and their families to Ong‟s banner. Soon their lives were luxurious and comfortable; a rarity which had not been seen upon the steppes before, where food could be promised and children were allowed to play. Jaghatai was held as a champion of the times, holding true to the ideals and virtues of his teachings. Even as this young nation bloomed to life, fate would play heavily against it. While riding the plains one day, Jaghatai came across three horsemen from the white cities attempting to ravish a young tribeswoman. Years of luxury had not dimmed the skills of the young warrior, who quickly took the heads of two of the attackers and allowed the badly wounded third to escape as a warning to his people. Jaghatai was not to know that he had damned himself, his father and his tribe that day, for one of the men he had killed had been a favoured son of the Palatine. Soon an army stood on the plains craving revenge. The Palatine was not a foolish man; he knew full well the strengths and weakness of his enemy like all great commanders. As vanguard to his army, a force of diplomats visited the tribes that made up the alliance, offering money, horses and countless luxuries if they refused to take to battle. The campaign of subterfuge and bribery succeeded in turning the heads of Ong's allies, leaving the Talskar to face the Palantine's armies alone when they met on the Fields of Zhangiu. Though they had been abandoned, they fought like beasts. They were almost slaughtered to a man before they fled the battlefield. The few who were able to retreat were left to do so in peace, the broken ranks of the Palatine unwilling to pursue further into the field of blood. Unfortunately for the tribesmen, amongst the survivors was Jaghatai, a son who had lost his father and a man who had seen his dream shattered by the weaknesses of others. Outraged by their treachery, Jaghatai swore that the Empty Quarter would die by his sword. Riding down upon those who had failed them, the remaining warriors of the Talskar became daemons of the plains. Finding pleasure in the screams of pain that surrounded them, they extended the torture of their enemies as long as possible. Though it was the Palatine's nation which had shed the blood of the Talskar, it was the tribesmen who suffered the pain of Jaghatai a thousand fold. The legends of Jaghatai Khan took form from these horrors, and by taking their rights of conquest in armour, horses and women, the Talskar grew in strength. Not even a united force, like the one Jaghatai himself had dreamt of, could withstand their fury. As the Empty Quarter fell under the terror of the Talskar, the Imperium finally made contact with Chogoris. The Emperor Himself is said to have walked upon the soil of the planet, with the Palatine quickly offering his allegiance. Sensing one of His sons, the Emperor wandered the lands in search for one of humanity's greatest heroes. The first meeting between the Master of Mankind and Jaghatai was far from pleasant. The Emperor found His son perched upon a throne in a ger of luxury, the years of war funding a tent of pleasure and excess. Surrounded by intricate armour, beautiful women and sumptuous feasts, Jaghatai was not a warrior-hero but a dreaded warlord drowning in his own ecstasy. The Emperor was outraged at how low one of His own had fallen. In a bitter irony, although the Talskar's lightning emblem echoed His own, the two leaders could not be more different. This ghoul had destroyed were he could have conquered; terrorised those he could have ruled, but the Emperor was forced to embrace this child of His. So simple were the urges of Jaghatai that the Emperor had little trouble convincing His son to join the Great Crusade; simply telling him of the treasures of the shining Imperial Palace and the glory he could find amongst the stars was sufficient. With his eyes wide with greed, Jaghatai eagerly pledged himself to the Emperor, becoming the Great Khan of the Vth Legion of Astartes; baptising them the 'White Scars' after the tribal markings of the Talskar. The Great Crusade As with all things in his life, Jaghatai took to commanding his legion with ease. He abandoned his home world to train in the heat of battle, he adapted to the bike over the horse with the skill only a son of the Emperor could. Not yet trusted to command an expedition of their own, the White Scars were instead enlisted to aid the other, more established legions. Serving alongside Dorn, Guilliman and Magnus, the White Scars became infamous for being reckless allies; abandoning their duties to charge the flanks of the enemy, chasing those who fled and bathing in the agony of the foe. It was whilst fighting alongside the Luna Wolves that Jaghatai found purpose. Horus, angered by the needless losses his legion had sustained because of Jaghatai's rash actions, struck his younger brother, telling the wild primarch to act like a commander and not a dog. Instead of lashing back, Jaghatai embraced his brother, saying he had finally met a man he could respect. The White Scars and their primarch were reborn, the silver tongue that Jaghatai had used to first unite the tribes of his homeland now eased the desires of his men, chastising their mindless actions. After barely a year they had become a respected ally and Jaghatai a trusted friend of Horus. Indeed, the legion became popular amongst expeditions of the Great Crusade, their swift strikes timed beautifully to crush the enemy. When the Emperor decreed that Jaghatai would lead his own grand campaign, twelve of his brothers' legions sent representatives to congratulate him, with three of them personally attending the great feast. Though sad to be leaving the comfort of those he held dear, Jaghatai's face was alight with pride as his father bestowed the greatest honour upon him – allowing the Fifth Legion to bear the lightning emblem of the Emperor which had been refused when the legion had been renamed. Many new worlds fell to the war machine of the White Scars, so swift were their actions that the Imperium failed in documenting them all. The battle honours for the legion did little to represent the number of victories that the Scars claimed. From the Hive World of Kerait to the jungles of Olkhun, it seemed wherever the Fifth Legion took to battle, glory and triumph rode with them. Jaghatai personally headed many of the battles himself, his personal banner standing tall at the rear of his modified jet bike, his huge shoulders thrusting his power lance deep before assaulting the enemy with his sword. Not only did his men see the honour of the Great Khan, but those who he defeated would willingly serve him and the Imperium. For a second time when his life looked fruitful and promising, Jaghatai was struck down. The isolation from his brothers who he had begun to trust, love and depend upon troubled the primarch deeply. He had felt loneliness like this only once before, during the battle against the Palatine. Without council from those who he respected, such as Horus and Mortarion, he took the responsibility of every death, either brother or ally, as a personal failure. He even lamented the deaths of his enemies, when words had failed and force had been necessary. Constantly confined to his war room, he spent sleepless nights poring over tactical maps, viewing and reviewing the wide-reaching arms of his expeditions. He became distant from the warfront, swamped instead by petitions for his presence, local governors seeking aid in petty disputes or to honour them by accepting invitations for social gatherings. For a man born under the night stars with blood on his hands, the imprisonment of the diplomatic world was a grinding axe worse than death. Alone, with no-one to turn to for conversation without sly meanings, he attempted to find tranquillity in the sea of confusion that was becoming his life. He learned to appreciate the many great artefacts which had come to adorn his chambers. Tributes, bribes and gifts, each tainted by hidden meanings, underhand favours and silent wants – though he found an old feeling of comfort and security in such items. These years were not kind to the wild primarch. He became less the warlord and more the bureaucrat, separated from the rush of battle and the emptiness of the plains. His only connections to the frontline were the few times he was able to abandon his quarters to spectate selected battles; his khans showing him his heroic legion. Once Jaghatai had returned to his chambers, his men continued to plunder armouries, reliquaries and treasuries in search of the perfect gift for their lord. Those who brought him the most precious items were heavily favoured, and soon Jaghatai was surrounded by sycophants instead of leaders, minions rather than heroes. As he listened to their tales of valour, honour and bravery, warzones were scavenged by blade and blood in the most brutal of ways to satisfy his greed. The tide of fresh victories earned by Jaghatai's expedition slowed to a trickle, and the poor tactical acumen of the new khans caused horrific losses to the Vth Legion. The items which garnered the lion's share of the Great Khan's pride were a twin pair of gauntlets named Mamonas and Avauras, which had been gifted to him by the High Priest of Ikesentii. The jewel encrusted gages were of little use in combat, their protection compromised by the golden weaving and delicately placed precious stones, but by then Jaghatai had little need for weapons of war, instead his vanity took dominance. It is said that he became bound to them, unwilling to leave their presence, even going as far as to declare that, "Only a son of the Emperor was equal to their beauty and magnificence." The Dornian Heresy Jaghatai had ventured far from the heart of the Imperium when the direst of messages reached him. When all those around him were turning against his father, Warmaster Horus contacted one of the few souls he could trust to support him. He was forced to inform his younger brother that Primarch Dorn had turned his back upon the Emperor, and he was not alone. With echoes of the Fields of Zhangiu against the Palatine reverberating in his heart, Jaghatai flew into a violent rage, swearing that he would personally destroy all those who had failed mankind. Halting his expedition and recalling all of his forces to his banner, the fleet prepared for warp jump destined for Terra, intending to stop only at Chogoris to recuperate their losses. Retreating to his chambers to reclaim his calm, Jaghatai lost himself among his precious gifts; the intricate armour plates from Khasa, the hand-crafted sword which had cost the lives of three Arslanii forge masters, and finally Mamonas and Avauras, which whispered sweet words of comfort into the primarch‟s heart. Even when the fleet‟s warp engines inexplicably failed, he would not be distracted from his obsession. The Warp has neither night nor day, just a constant stretch of time without respite. When Jaghatai emerged from his quarters, his crew and men had lost all morale, believing themselves abandoned in the Warp and their commander distraught from his brothers‟ treachery. Though his eyes looked sore from lack of sleep, they glistened with an energy which only emphasised the grin which spread across his face. Unknown to all bar Jaghatai himself, he had found a saviour from the troubles that racked his mind. Walking amongst his blood-brothers, he called them all by name and judged their skill with a sword, their worth as a comrade and their eagerness to follow his lead. With his renewed vigour he personally fixed the warp engines, labouring for many hours alone in the dark confines, with only his gauntlets for company. When the fleet finally broke into real space at Chogoris, Jaghatai had organised a patchwork force of all the brotherhoods, stating that if the White Scars were to fail, then all would be represented in the rebirth of the legion. As this detachment secured Quan Zhous, their fortress-monastery, upon Chogoris and prepared the citizens for war against a fallen Imperium, the Great Khan left them with chilling orders, "Isolate yourself from the outside, be the viper in the pit, hidden, but ready to strike. Bar me or the Emperor Himself, trust no-one." The arrival of the White Scars on Terra was meant to be a beacon of hope to the loyalist cause; reinforcements to aid the war against the traitorous Dorn. Unfortunately, all communications with the legion were lost in static, with only the crazed mumblings and screams of the damned breaking the interference. Jaghatai Khan had lost none of his tactical mastery over the years, leading his host of Thunderhawks directly for the Lion's Gate Spaceport. Mindful of the massacre perpetrated by the Blood Angels at the Eternity Wall Spaceport, and unable to receive any coherent reply to his hails, the spaceport‟s commanding officer ordered that the Lion‟s Gate anti-air defences and heavy shields remain active. Only through the direct intervention of Warmaster Horus himself were these systems finally deactivated and the White Scars given permission to land. This proved to be a grave error of judgement. The details of the slaughter which followed were overshadowed by later actions across the globe, and the ground of Terra shook under the bikes of White Scars dedicated to Slaanesh. At first Horus refused to believe the reports which reached his command post, but once Jaghatai had accepted the bounty of the Imperial Palace from Dorn - a prize which the Great Khan saw as rightly his after the promises of his father - and began massacring the citizens of Terra, the Warmaster was forced to accept that in these darkest of days even one of his closest friends could betray him. Painting a single tear drop in the corner of the Eye of Horus which emblazoned his chest, he stood amongst his Sons as they accepted the charge of the White Scars. The initial assault devastated the loyalist line, but to universal surprise the second attack never materialised. Having proved their worth on the battlefield against their Astartes brothers, and with the riches of the Imperial treasury now secured in their ships' holds, the White Scars capriciously returned to the spaceport. Ignoring the bitter threats from Dorn and the other traitor primarchs, and seemingly indifferent to the fate of the Heresy that hung so precariously in the balance, the Fifth Legion left Terra in search of further plunder. Since the Heresy Whilst the victorious loyalists still wept at the death of the Emperor, the White Scars slaughtered world after world and ransacked their riches. Relic worlds, shrine worlds and forge worlds all suffered from the lightning strikes of the White Scars, with countless treasures lost to the greed of Jaghatai before he finally retreated into the Eye of Terror. Jaghatai never set foot upon Chogoris again, seemingly forgetting his childhood home. The fate of the planet is, however, detailed extensively in the chronicles of Abaddon's Crusades. After stabilising what remained of the Imperium; the First High Lord turned his gaze to the homeworlds of the Traitor Legions. A combined force of Death Guard and Black Templars, under the dead eyes of Mortarion, was given the honour of reclaiming Chogoris. The patchwork brotherhood abandoned by Jaghatai fought like wolves, alongside the endless tides of tribal horsemen and Palatine infantry. Still heeding the words of the Great Khan, none dared to question the righteousness of their cause. Their hearts were full of sorrow, for the coming of the enemy meant that Jaghatai, and indeed the Emperor, had failed, and that they were the last warriors of his memory. There would be only one result to this war; a triumphant Imperium. The tragedy of this conflict would only come to light when the few surviving White Scars were interrogated for the location of their primarch. The defenders believed themselves the final guardians of the Emperor‟s dream, the invading force, to them, were the traitors. As the truth was told, many refused to accept that their primarch could have discarded them. Others wept as it struck chords within them, their souls telling them all they needed to know. Those left behind were the ones Jaghatai had been unable to taint, those too noble and pure of spirit. For their virtues, they had led their people into a massacre. A remembrancer of Abaddon's fleet penned the words for this most harrowing of events; "Chogoris, burnt to ashes, bloodied by war. Though enemies, though foes; only loyal sons of the Emperor died that day." In the first few millennia after the Great Betrayal, a daemon-centaur claiming to be Jaghatai led invasions into the Imperium, striking without warning and seemingly without logic. During this time, the beast commanded the legion to such horrors as the Red Highway Massacre, a feat which, even with their bitter hatred of one another, the Khornate Space Wolves respect as an act of bloodshed almost without comparison. As the centuries wore on, Jaghatai became increasingly distracted from his conquests, instead depending upon his khans to fight in his name whilst he lived in ecstasy surrounded by treasures and pleasures. It has been many millennia since the Daemon-Primarch of Slaanesh has personally made war upon the Imperium, and many scholars doubt he truly still commands the legion. Legion Homeworld Mundus Planus, or Chogoris as it was once known, was a planet of two worlds when Jaghatai rode across its soils. The cities that had belonged to the Palatine were built from white rock, a shining beacon of humanity‟s glory from horizon to horizon. The ivory walls secured a life of peace and prosperity for its inhabitants. Both landscape and lifestyle stood in contrast to that of the Empty Quarter. As grasslands stretched into grasslands, it seemed impossible for any single man to claim it as his own. Hills rolled into mountains, of which the elixir of life trickled into the mighty rivers which fed the land. Upon these nomads a strict life was forced, food was scarce, war was frequent and many died young. Master of the horse, the bow and the sword, it was these people who raised Jaghatai as their own, and it was they who formed the ranks of the White Scars. All the bloodshed in its history paled in comparison to the fate of the world. Abandoned and deceived by Jaghatai, a small force of loyal White Scars stood alongside both tribesmen and warriors of the Palatine against Abaddon's Crusade. Not only was every inhabitant slaughtered in the foolish war, the culture and legacy of the world was also obliterated. In the centuries to come, the planet was transformed into the Mundus Planus of today. The cities of marble were replaced by endless factories, pumping smoke and pollutants into the air whilst the Empty Quarter became host to towering hives that would make the nomads turn in their graves. Though spared the horror of Exterminatus, Mundus Planus was instead sentenced to become but a simple, anonymous cog in the Imperial machine. For century after century it has quietly and unremarkably produced its worth in goods and regiments, oblivious to the horrors of its dark past. Of the White Scars themselves, they settled upon the daemon world of Kaprax, located deep within the Eye of Terror. The vast plains of their home world were recreated to the whims of Jaghatai, the very earth given form by the desire of their primarch. Allowing his men to roam free, doing as their urges decreed, the planet became home to excess, greed and indulgence. Those with enough blood-money and power erect gers filled with exotic luxuries which ape the great Pleasure Dome of Jaghatai himself. It is unknown how many brothers of the White Scars, like their primarch, have not left Kaprax since its creation, spending all eternity there without ever growing bored. Legion Organisation Though all White Scars still remain loyal to the Great Khan, it has been long millennia since he left his palace of pleasure to lead the legion. Instead, groups have formed around inspiring khans who command by strength of arms, fear and, above all else, the promise of wealth. These brotherhoods range from a small band of like-minded individuals to forces equalling that of several loyalist grand companies in number. Of all the brotherhoods of the White Scars, the triumvirate of the Rampagers, Destroyers and Marauders constantly vie to be the most brutal and feared. Each brotherhood is structured around the disposition and resources of their khan, making each one individual and unique. A few commonalities have survived the fall of the legion, such as the absence of Havoc squads and the distaste towards Dreadnoughts. Whilst the first is simply antagonistic to the flowing style of warfare taught by Jaghatai, the latter strikes a fear into the hearts of the fearless. Entombment within the sarcophagus of these beasts is seen as the greatest of torments for them, the cold metal devoid of the sense of pleasure. It has been known for khans to punish those under their command by imprisoning them inside a dreadnought when such behemoths can be captured from loyalist forces. These poor souls quickly fall to insanity and are launched into the heat of battle, resulting in much consternation throughout the enemy's ranks. The preference for mobile warfare within the legion still echoes from the tribesmen of Chogoris, with the use of bike squads being heavily favoured. These brothers will often group in sixes, the sacred number of Slaanesh, and those who embrace it are smiled upon by their Dark Lord. The White Scars are the only Traitor Legion able to field Land Speeders, though their numbers are limited by the legion‟s inability to produce the vehicle, instead depending on pillaging them from the battlefield. A khan who manages to acquire such treasures will find his status and power much advanced. Though there is no true ranking of the splinter-factions bar that Jaghatai is lord of all, there are positions of great power within the legion. An Astartes known only as the Voice of the Great Khan speaks in the name of Jaghatai, and effectively rules all. It is a foolish khan who refuses to follow the orders of the Voice for the wrath he can bring is almost equal to that of the primarch. The Stormseers are also a dominant force within the legion, their expertise in the magicks of Slaanesh granting them power beyond the dreams of others. They extract a high price in treasure and slaves for their services on and off the battlefield, but it is one the khans must pay for the continued existence of their brotherhoods. The Lord of the Hunt is a much feared brother of the White Scars. Owing no allegiance to any force, he roams the galaxy in search of his prey. A few marines, drunk on the thrill of the hunt, follow the stalker on his missions, though none survive long. The Imperial records on the Lord of the Hunt are confused at best, whether it is a single man who has survived since the Heresy or if as one dies, another takes up the title, is mere postulation by scholars. The legend states that a khan walked the fields at the Siege of Terra, challenging loyalist and Chaos champions alike to single combat. The number which fell to his blade is unknown, but since that day, the coming of the Lord of the Hunt is a harbinger of death for his prey. Legion Recruitment Recruitment into the White Scars is a torment for even the sternest of soldiers, and few enter the path willingly. The ancient rituals which once produced warriors loyal to the Emperor have become twisted like their masters into ceremonies of pain. The magicks of Chaos allow any host to be overcome by the power of Jaghatai's gene-seed. Stormseers - the masters of the winds of Slaanesh - bind the genes of the Great Khan to the captive whilst apothecaries carry out the ritual scarring. The transformation takes many weeks, although to the recruit it seems to be an eternity of agony. During this time the Stormseers never cease in their trance-like chants, delivering new souls to the Dark Lord. Many weaklings fail, their physical forms too frail for the power of Jaghatai. Legion Combat Doctrine A bolt of lightning in clear skies, a sudden gale from an unexpected quarter - the White Scars are war's sudden and merciless onslaught. Swift action and a joy for the rush of combat and clash of blades are the hallmarks of their battles, tempered by a quiet and hidden wisdom that few took the time to uncover. The White Scars thrive in the chaotic heart of battle, anticipating its vicissitudes and flowing with them, always to be found where the foe is weakest, where they were least expected, and leaving only cold corpses in their wake. White Scar Legionaries are often organised into a fighting unit known as a Chogorian Brotherhood. Composed of a body of Legionaries mounted entirely on fleet warbikes and Scimitar jetbikes, or in other transport vehicles, these formations were ideal for harrying campaigns or lightning strike warfare. When faced with a dug-in foe, some elements of the Brotherhood would dismount to fight on foot, moving to encircle the foe and support their brethren. Since their fall to the Dark Prince of Excess, the White Scars have only furthered their mastery of mobile warfare. Their assaults are reminiscent of those of the Talskar as they bled the Empty Quarter dry. Appearing from all sides, the only warning is the thunder of engines as bikes appear on the horizon. Strikes come hard and fast, only for an eerie silence to settle as the White Scars retreat though victory could easily have been achieved. Such tactics are deemed foolish by many strategists, as they allow an unprepared foe time to dig in, but such is the brutality of the first blow that the enemy is demoralised and terror begins to spread its insidious roots. The White Scars watch in glee as the enemy force tears itself apart from within, unable to cope with the fear of a second attack that might come at any moment. Wherever the sons of Jaghatai tread, destruction follows. Their ability to isolate the weak link in any defensive force wreaks havoc across the line. A once secure flank finds itself surrounded by the enemy, whilst a foe thinking itself under attack awakes to see no enemy but can hear the screams of men in defensive lines behind them. There have been occasions when the nobility of humanity has prevailed, and instead of falling apart, a strengthened, united community stands against the White Scars. Such insults are treated harshly, and the brave fools sometimes find themselves suffering a fate worse than death – forced induction into the legion against which they fought so bravely. Legion Gene-Seed Even while serving the Emperor during the Great Crusade, the purity if the White Scars gene-seed was thrown into doubt. The genetics of the tribesmen of Chogoris proved as resolute and strong as the people themselves, entwining itself with the gene-seed of Jaghatai. Their lust for war and savagery became one with the brutality of the Space Marine to produce a dark stain in humanity's history. Even without the recruits of their home world, the White Scars have become increasingly sadistic and barbaric in their nature. Even their most hated ally, the Khornate Space Wolves, have been known to call the White Scars cruel. Mutations have become rife in a number of the brotherhoods, whilst others have managed to maintain some genetic integrity. The Marauders are renowned for the daemonic forms many of their marines have taken; their horror almost rivalling that of the myriad creatures of the warp. The magicks which are used to create new recruits for the legion only further stifle the purity of Jaghatai's legacy, the poison of Chaos flowing early into what was once a holy ritual. Even as a marine is born into the foul life of the White Scars he is obsessed with want and destroyed by pleasure - a true child of Slaanesh. Legion Beliefs The ideologies and practices of the White Scars have travelled a dark path, much like the legion itself. The teachings of the Stormseers, both skilled in the art of magicks and the ways of Slaanesh, are structured around two core pillars by which all brothers live and die. These central beliefs are that one must attain all that is possible and live to their body's fullest capabilities. If an Imperial preacher taught these words to his flock they would be virtues of life, creeds that would surely send a soul to the table of the Emperor, but the twisted minds of the White Scars have belittled these tenets into nothing more than greed and ecstasy. They want for all that is not theirs, but once they have acquired it, it pales and fails to satisfy their lust. They take their bodies to the highest of pleasures and the deepest of pains all in the name of their patron, Slaanesh. Legion Fleet *''Swordstorm'' (Gloriana-class Battleship) *''Lance of Heaven'' (Dictatus-class Battleship) *''Bloodline'' (Unknown Class) *''Celestial'' (Unknown Class) *''Fate's Arrow'' (Unknown Class) *''Khamanog'' (Unknown Class) *''Namaan'' (Unknown Class) *''Qo-ama'' (Unknown Class) *''Qo-Fian'' (Unknown Class) *''Tchin-Zar'' (Unknown Class) *''Umaal'' (Unknown Class) *''Constantius'' (Battle Barge) *''Silent Horseman'' (Battle Barge) *''Jaghatai's Pride'' (Battle Barge) *''Soulspear'' (Battle Barge) *''Hawkstar'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Lord of Heavens'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Swift Horseman'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Uzan'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Warrior of the Plains'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Xo-Jia'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Amujin'' (Frigate) *''Kaljian'' (Frigate) *''Melak Karta'' (Frigate) *''Nomad'' (Frigate) *''Sickle Moon'' (Frigate) *''Xia Xia'' (Gun-corvette) Legion Appearance Legion Colours Pre-Heresy Before their corruption at the start of the Dornian Heresy, the Legionaries of the Vth Legion coloured their armour in pearl white with red lacquer and gold on the trim of their battle-plate. Often times they utilised iconography based on the imagery used by the tribes of Chogoris, which usually took the form of jagged lightning bolt designs painted onto their helms and armour, echoing ritual scarification applied to their flesh beneath. Post-Heresy During the Dornian Heresy, the White Scars began to repaint parts of their armour in those colours which honour Slaanesh - pastel colours such as violet, pink or black - they also favour bright, garish, clashing and sensuous colours for decoration, though the White Scars still leave parts of their armour in the original pearl white colour of the old Legion. Such is the decoration and wealth of the armour and weapons which adorns each Heretic Astartes that many have confused brothers of the White Scars as a Chaos Lord. Blades worthy of Loyalist captains are found in the hands of mere warriors. It is said that a victory over the legion, if it can be achieved, is a lucrative one indeed, for the riches earned from pillaging the bodies of these Heretic Astartes could build a city. Legion Badge The White Scars Legion's badge was the Talskar's lightning emblem, which echoes that of the Emperor's own lightning symbol of Unity. This symbol came to exemplify the Vth Legion's style of combat and echoed the facial honour scars all members of the Legion bore. Now, it has become synonymous with the White Scars' reputation as marauders whom enjoy launching lightning raids on unwary worlds. Sadistic in the extreme, these Heretic Astartes revel in the enslavement and torture of innocents. The White Scars are also known to decorate their garish armour with the blasphemous symbols and sigils of Slaanesh, as well as the eight-pointed Octed (Star of Chaos), an oft-incorporated Chaos icon used by all of the Traitor Legions. Trivia This article was originally authored by Ferrata over on the Bolter & Chainsword forums. All rights are reserved to him. Category:W Category:Chaos Category:First Founding Category:Traitors